Los Angeles daily herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1884-1890, 1887-12-25
Per TIE HERALD.
HOW CARMEN BECAME A NUN.
"a CHRISTMAS STORY.
CHApTER I.

What a sight Los Angeles shop win
doeS have presented during the pas
two wrecks, with their rich displays D
Christmas goods set out to attract the
eye Of the gift hunters! And what :
voi';Ine of people has filed every
street, early in the day and late in the
evening, TO inspect the pretty things
on exhibition / was standing or
Spring street one evening last week
eonyersipg with a fine specimen Of the
native Californian. | knew him
twenty years ago, when he Was mar
past Middle age, and as he has lived
here for nearly three-quarters OF a cen,
fury 1 like to chat with him of the
DAYS that are gone. He is most intel
ligent, and has a keen mind well
stored with most interesting anecdotes
OF the old days. We were comparing
the Los Angeles OF score OF years
ago, It's streets, buildings, stores, holi.
day goods and population with that Of
to-day, As the sharp contrasts
were being Brought out by my
friend in those blue veins ruus some
ri the best blood of the Grandees OF
Spain, a girl OF about twenty years
stood before us for moment and
spoke 60 my companion. AS this
story will deal with some OF her his
Nory, perhaps, the reader will not OBJ
jet to being introduced as | was to La
Selcrita Carmen Bailey. You only
hear the name. | saw its possesser,
aad while her family name betrays
the fact that she has in her the blood
OF the American, her given name in
aicates plainly enough whence she
derives that hair OF the hue OF jet,
and those eyes as dark as night, but
as iustrous as light. Her regular fea-
tures, olive complexion, albeit
with most high color be
meath its liquid depths, and even
teeth, as white as snow, together
with the sbapely tapering hands, and
the little foot, high-arched at the
instep. with which she patted the flags
while she stood for a moment in our
presence, all bespoke a lineage Of
which she need not be ashamed. Her
form was tail and well developed, but
as 1.-the as willow sapling, and as
gTapefai in its sinewy movements as
that of . young swan moving through
the sipples OF its native lake. The
mention OF Miss Bailey" did not at
tract ry attention, but when / heard
Don. Refugio call her Familiarity Sen
erita Carmen. my curiosity was
aroused. Looking up, her eye caught
aine, and she detecting my too ardent
interest, at once Withdrew.
Carmen Bailey" | said to my
CabaIlero.
''.sh. just So" he responded. Els
she not the yery image Of her moth
er?'
"As her mother looked the Christ
mas day, twenty years agoto the very
echo, Ii one may say so, Of whs the
eye takes cognizance and, by the way,
the voice is the real echo of that voice
whose tones charmed every ear about
the old adobe ranch house, in those
days when you and /. Don Refugio,
had 81 better ear for such music than
VIC have to-day"
Thus having learned OF La Donna
Garments present circumstances, and
that her father and mother still live
and ara prosperous, [ said my 0di0s
to my oid-time friend and passed on,
thinking Of that Christmas night at
the Wedding OF La Sennorita Carmen g
mother a little more than twenty
years ago.
At that time there WAS not mile OF
railroad in all OF Southern California
not q mile south OF San Jose. Los An
relies was little, scattered village of
adol,es with few frame buildings. and
fewer OF brick, in the city, for city it
was in name, with its mayor, and all
other elements of city government.
The country was sheep walk and
cattle range, from where the covered
bridge stands to San Bernardino, to
San Diego, to Wilmington, to Santa
Monica, the Cahuengo Pass, or any
other objective point around the entire
com pass There was nothing then
like now excepting only the glorious eli
mate, the mountains and the sea. The
wear OF which 1 am speaking was
arked by an unusually copious rain
fail Tor that time, and two heavy down.
pours had come early in the season.
These had been followed by about two
weeks OF decidedly warm weather for
December, and all the plains were
covered with the softest green, enliven-
ed in many places by bright flowers,
which had, mistaking the fortuitous
warm sunshine for the genuine spring,
bestirred themselves and come
forth to make the Christmas lands
cape gay to an unwonted degree.
1t was on the gently sloping contour
Of one Of our mesas, stretching from
the base of the great mountain range
to the line of one of the rivers marked
by its growth of willows, that the old
ranch house stood where the scene OF
our story is laid. Behind the house
greas canon led back far up into the
very heart OF the mountains. Down
it's rugged and serpentine course came
a stream of crystal water, bounding
over the great granite boulders, leap
ing in miniature waterfalls,a las if some
infant Titans had made this
their Fairgrounds, or sleeping
in some deep, dark pool where
the big aud wary mountain
trout lay in wait for their prey. On
the mesa no fence was raised to break
the continuous sweep OF the plain for
twenty miles. The Spanish cattle in
great herds, with their clean and
geacefui limbs and long, curved, muir
derous horns, roamed at will. Bands
of horses fed with feet of thunder
alone tina mesa aa wild "a thOsa On
tho pampas Of South America. In